The newspaper "Le Monde": "He is no saint, neither is he free from sin… his hands are clean, his criminal process is it itself a subject of human rights”. The website Prigovor.ru reminds its readers of what happened on September 13, 2005.
On this day 18 years ago, on September 13, 2005, the editorial board of the newspaper “Le Monde” agreed to publish a piece “in defense of Khodorkovsky”. The article entitled “En défence de Mikhail Khodorkovski” was written by a young, 26 years of age, lawyer Patrick Klugman. Apart from that, he introduced himself as the president of the Union of the Jewish students of France and vice-president of the organization “SOS-Racism”.
The translation of this article, which appeared on the next day, coincided with a certain event – with the appeal against the verdict of the Khodorkovsky's case according to which he was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment on the first lawsuit where one of the episodes was the proven tax evasion.
“It would be nice for the accused to have a more stainless past”
Before washing up the image of the criminal, Monsieur Klugman sadly noticed that Monsieur Khodorkovsky was by no means an ideal client for defense. “Of course, the personality of the main defendant gives ground to certain cation with which his case was presented in the West and the Yukos affair as well. It would be desirable that the accused be less rich, have a less stained past, and be a more "clean" man. Still, if we are worried about personal freedom or, to put it more prosaic, about the preservation of democracy in Russia, then this man is worthy to be defended. Just because he is no saint, not without sin and because his hands are unclean, his case is a subject of human rights", stressed this political commentator, turning to the needed side. So, like, yes, Khodorkovsky is no saint, but we still have to worry about "democracy in Russia", thus – go forward despite the materials of the case and the court verdict.
“It’s possible to express reservations concerning this man, to condemn ways with the help of which in the space of a few years he accumulated 15 billion US dollar. It was he, who became the owner of his former company in 1995 thanks to the scandalous appropriation of the state property what was shyly called contracts "loans for shares".
“It was he, who in 1996 together with several other oligarchs financed the first war in Chechnya. It was he, who cheated his creditors in order to avoid the crisis of 1998. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, indeed, committed these and, sure enough, other offenses, about which we do not know anything. However, he should be defended. In the first place, because, was he an oligarch or not, he was condemned after a falsified process, which was carried out without legal foundations and was motivated by political considerations”, insisted the author, diligently repeating the talking points of the propaganda machine of Yukos, including absolutely all laments about “political motives” in order “to grab Yukos”.
And, finally – “to a large extent, the destiny of this man will decide whether it will be possible or not to stop the offensive of the authoritarianism in Russia. It would be preposterous to doubt it in Paris if in Moscow are convinced of it both Garry Kasparov and Yelena Bonner”, summed up with gusto the author who has turned out to be a rather remarkable personality.
Adviser of oil swindlers
According to the description of the activities of this person in open sources, he is the adviser of the former general manager of the French oil giant "Elf" Loic Le Floch-Prigent, who has turned out to be a swindler from the French oil industry.
“With means from the budget of “Elf” Mr. Le Floch-Prigent bought villas in Paris and also paid compensation in the amount of 5 million US dollars after the divorce with his wife. Apart from that, the former head of “Elf” admitted financing various political parties, whereat most of the money went to the party of Jacque Chirac “Rassemblement pour la Republique”, as well as to bribe leaders of some African states (Angola, Kongo, Gabon) in an attempt to get profitable oil contracts”, pointed out business press, informing about the results of the judicial inquiry.
Follow “the unclean hands”
Still, one thing is strange – none of activists, human rights advocates, or lawyers from Russia have written indignant agitprop stunts in the press, trying in every possible way to exculpate defendants of some case. Perhaps, it would be not only interference in the internal affairs of France but also in affairs of the French legal proceedings. But, so it seems, such simple aspects of the legal etiquette and norms of international law acquire not all graduates of the French educational institutions. That is why their signatures may be found under outspokenly maladapted letters expressing outrage as long as Russia on its own territory demands compliance with laws. "Here is a quotation from the proclamation of the "Russophobe" group of Khodorkovsky which was distributed in September 2019.
“The Russian authorities try to force companies – from Facebook to Google – to observe the inner laws, which strangle the society. We consider this pressure illegal and call on international business community not to give way and demand the political independence while working in Russia”.
Among snobbish hypocrites and fugitive criminals like the swindler Browder and the same Khodorkovsky has intruded a humble signature of the lover of “the unclean hands” of Khodorkovsky – “Patrick Klugman, Attorney of law, Deputy Mayor of Paris, France”, notes the website Prigovor.ru.
(See also the previous article “On this day, Khodorkovsky admitted that he was put in jail not because of politics”. “I think that a president of Russia as head of state should be strong enough to cement the country, guarantee the unity of the nation”, said Khodorkovsky. The website Prigovor.ru reminds its readers of what happened on September 12, 2005.
On this day 16 years ago, on September 13, 2005, the editorial board of the newspaper “Le Monde” agreed to publish a piece “in defense of Khodorkovsky”. The article entitled “En défence de Mikhail Khodorkovski” was written by a young, 26 years of age, lawyer Patrick Klugman. Apart from that, he introduced himself as the president of the Union of the Jewish students of France and vice-president of the organization “SOS-Racism”.
The translation of this article, which appeared on the next day, coincided with a certain event – with the appeal against the verdict of the Khodorkovsky's case according to which he was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment on the first lawsuit where one of the episodes was the proven tax evasion.
“It would be nice for the accused to have a more stainless past”
Before washing up the image of the criminal, Monsieur Klugman sadly noticed that Monsieur Khodorkovsky was by no means an ideal client for defense. “Of course, the personality of the main defendant gives ground to certain cation with which his case was presented in the West and the Yukos affair as well. It would be desirable that the accused be less rich, have a less stained past, and be a more "clean" man. Still, if we are worried about personal freedom or, to put it more prosaic, about the preservation of democracy in Russia, then this man is worthy to be defended. Just because he is no saint, not without sin and because his hands are unclean, his case is a subject of human rights", stressed this political commentator, turning to the needed side. So, like, yes, Khodorkovsky is no saint, but we still have to worry about "democracy in Russia", thus – go forward despite the materials of the case and the court verdict.
“It’s possible to express reservations concerning this man, to condemn ways with the help of which in the space of a few years he accumulated 15 billion US dollar. It was he, who became the owner of his former company in 1995 thanks to the scandalous appropriation of the state property what was shyly called contracts "loans for shares".
“It was he, who in 1996 together with several other oligarchs financed the first war in Chechnya. It was he, who cheated his creditors in order to avoid the crisis of 1998. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, indeed, committed these and, sure enough, other offenses, about which we do not know anything. However, he should be defended. In the first place, because, was he an oligarch or not, he was condemned after a falsified process, which was carried out without legal foundations and was motivated by political considerations”, insisted the author, diligently repeating the talking points of the propaganda machine of Yukos, including absolutely all laments about “political motives” in order “to grab Yukos”.
And, finally – “to a large extent, the destiny of this man will decide whether it will be possible or not to stop the offensive of the authoritarianism in Russia. It would be preposterous to doubt it in Paris if in Moscow are convinced of it both Garry Kasparov and Yelena Bonner”, summed up with gusto the author who has turned out to be a rather remarkable personality.
Adviser of oil swindlers
According to the description of the activities of this person in open sources, he is the adviser of the former general manager of the French oil giant "Elf" Loic Le Floch-Prigent, who has turned out to be a swindler from the French oil industry.
“With means from the budget of “Elf” Mr. Le Floch-Prigent bought villas in Paris and also paid compensation in the amount of 5 million US dollars after the divorce with his wife. Apart from that, the former head of “Elf” admitted financing various political parties, whereat most of the money went to the party of Jacque Chirac “Rassemblement pour la Republique”, as well as to bribe leaders of some African states (Angola, Kongo, Gabon) in an attempt to get profitable oil contracts”, pointed out business press, informing about the results of the judicial inquiry.
Follow “the unclean hands”
Still, one thing is strange – none of activists, human rights advocates, or lawyers from Russia have written indignant agitprop stunts in the press, trying in every possible way to exculpate defendants of some case. Perhaps, it would be not only interference in the internal affairs of France but also in affairs of the French legal proceedings. But, so it seems, such simple aspects of the legal etiquette and norms of international law acquire not all graduates of the French educational institutions. That is why their signatures may be found under outspokenly maladapted letters expressing outrage as long as Russia on its own territory demands compliance with laws. "Here is a quotation from the proclamation of the "Russophobe" group of Khodorkovsky which was distributed in September 2019.
“The Russian authorities try to force companies – from Facebook to Google – to observe the inner laws, which strangle the society. We consider this pressure illegal and call on international business community not to give way and demand the political independence while working in Russia”.
Among snobbish hypocrites and fugitive criminals like the swindler Browder and the same Khodorkovsky has intruded a humble signature of the lover of “the unclean hands” of Khodorkovsky – “Patrick Klugman, Attorney of law, Deputy Mayor of Paris, France”, notes the website Prigovor.ru.
(See also the previous article “On this day, Khodorkovsky admitted that he was put in jail not because of politics”. “I think that a president of Russia as head of state should be strong enough to cement the country, guarantee the unity of the nation”, said Khodorkovsky. The website Prigovor.ru reminds its readers of what happened on September 12, 2005.
